by Sam Otieno and PMPS

Teachers have petitioned the Government to protect them from alleged harassment by Ministry of Education officials.

In a memorandum to Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) accused the ministry of sabotage and abuse of teachers’ rights.

"We are here to make a clarion call to you, the Prime Minister, that we have serious problems as teachers. The teaching profession is being hurt by none other than the Government," said Mr Lawrence Majali, the Knut secretary-general.

The union’s chairman, Mr George Wesonga, asked the PM to intervene fast, saying teachers were being treated poorly compared to other public servants.

He accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of playing politics with serious professional matters.

However, Raila asked them to be patient, noting that he was consulting widely and would respond before the year ends.

He said the Government would address the controversial review of hardship allowance, employment of interns, non-remission of union dues to Knut by the TSC, pension for retired teachers and the plight of P1 A-Level teachers. Knut is locked in a court battle with the ministry over the employment of intern teachers, which it argues is against the law.

Knut also claims TSC has not remitted close to Sh60 million union dues for January.

Raila said it was unfortunate that retirees had to wait up to three years to get their pension.

"It is bad because as the retirees age, they need more medical attention. But they spend the little money they have travelling to Nairobi to chase their pension that never comes when they need it most," the PM said in his office.